


She Needed to Focus

by multifandom_marvel



Category: Frozen (Disney Movies)
Genre: Awkwardness, Bad Flirting, Elsa Has Ice Powers (Disney), Enchanted Forest (Disney: Frozen), F/F, Flirting, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Give Elsa A Girlfriend (Disney), Internalized Homophobia, Lesbian Elsa (Disney), My First AO3 Post, My First Work in This Fandom, Post-Canon, Useless Lesbians, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-23
Updated: 2020-07-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:08:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24339394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/multifandom_marvel/pseuds/multifandom_marvel
Summary: This is basically a continuation of what happens after F2! After Elsa decides to stay in the Enchanted Forest, she has a hard time grappling with the fact that she is allowed to be her and does not have to be anything for anyone else. Focusing on herself is hard, because she realizes, there is more to her than her powers. As her powers grow within the forest, and as she is forced to face something about herself that she never has before, she worries that she'll be a threat to the wonderful Northuldra and the forest.This is is my first work ever, so I apologize if it seems a little confusing. I hope my writing and editing skills will grow with time :)
Relationships: Elsa & Honeymaren (Disney), Elsa/Honeymaren (Disney)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 42





	1. An Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, welcome to this new fic! As I said in the summary, I am new, so I am more than happy to take ideas and constructive criticism! I'm still trying to figure out exactly what I want to do with this fic, but it's coming along, and I have some pretty interesting ideas. 
> 
> Thanks :)

To Elsa, a rustling in the leaves was very peaceful and created a beautiful feeling inside of her, signaling that winter, the time where she could thrive the most with her powers, would soon be arriving. She had finally finished moving from the posh prestige of the Arendelle castle to this beautiful Enchanted Forest, a place where she was allowed to be her most natural, most true self. Elsa was drawn to the forest since she first laid her eyes on it, allowing herself to be mesmerized by its charm and power. She couldn't help herself but she rarely let her emotions get the better of her, mostly due to her strict upbringing of being taught to suppress her powers, and, quite honestly, she was scared of what might happen if she let herself be free.

However, there was something about this forest that made her abandon all those feelings, and as a result, she felt the freedom course through her, which made her more powerful and glorious. With winter coming, she was normally terrified of how increased her powers might become, but now she realized that an increase in her power only meant more prosperity for the forest and for herself. That was exactly what would happen, she decided happily, as she rose from her bed in her humble cabin.

As she made her way out into the woodlands, she inhaled a deep breath of the heavy cold air that was teasing the forest, something that made her smile. She made her way to the campfire where the people would normally cook breakfast, and where she was more than eager to help. The people adored her, recognizing she and Anna as the true fifth spirits. A few, mostly the little ones and some elders, even worshiped her. She felt rather uncomfortable with this, and spent most of her time around people that treated her as an equal, not as someone superior.

Yelana, for one, being the admirable and strong leader that she was, respected her, maybe even valued her, but never worshiped her. Ryder, the goofball of the clan, while of course befriending her, did not place her as above himself. To Ryder, Elsa thought, everyone was just living their lives, and benefited when they were united, not separated by feelings of dominance. She doubted that he cared if Elsa were a queen, a spirit, or a goddess. Elsa admired him for that, wishing she could follow suit and learn to leave behind the constant ranking of superiority and inferiority that her life back in Arendelle pressured her to do.

As Elsa walked through the paths to the settlement where the people would cook breakfast, she thought some more. Everyone here was just so calm, so relaxed. They knew what they needed to do to survive, but now with the mist being lifted from the forest, they were allowed to live freely. They were all incredibly grateful to Elsa, and of course Anna, who, by herself, lifted the curse by breaking the dam. The people now radiated a sense of pure joy that Elsa was for some reason attracted to. She had always lived in such seclusion, what with hiding herself from her sister and from society for most of her life, and this happiness just made Elsa feel so steady, something that she had not felt in a long, long time. That is, she normally felt steady. The people were kind and respectful, the community was one that shared and thrived off of each other, but occasionally she felt a little off, like she was short of breath. Not the suffocation that she would constantly feel in Arendelle, both before her coronation and even after, but rather short of breath like she forgot how to breathe, she forgot how to think, she forgot how to do anything. And that usually was because she would be distracted by a specific girl.


	2. The Gift

**The Gift**

“Elsa, there you are! Look what I made you!” Daniel, a six-year-old boy in the tribe, called her. Giving a toothless grin, he ran over to where Elsa, carrying wood to help cook breakfast, was and handed her a stone. 

“Oh, thank you, Daniel,” Elsa laughed. “What exactly is this?” 

Daniel, clearly disappointed with her, pouted. “Issa Elsa spirit!”

“An- an Elsa spirit?”

“Yeah, like you’re a spirit, but you’re also a person, so this is a crystal I found, and crystals look like snowflakes, and it's a Elsa spirit!!”

Elsa put the wood down and took the stone. Looking upon it more intently, she realized that this was in fact a crystal. The glimmer it had when the sun shined on it, the beautiful texture it held. She was drawn to it, staring at it as if it were staring back, and got lost in the cracks and the lines. 

“What are you looking at?” a smooth voice pierced behind her.

“Ah- um” Honeymaren had caught Elsa off guard, and as she fumbled the crystal it tipped through her fingers and towards the ground. 

“No!” Elsa cried, not wanting to ruin this perfect gift that Daniel had brought her. A thread of ice had burst from her fingers, and as it wrapped around the crystal, she tried to reel it back in like a lasso, but failed. Like lightning, Honeymaren threw herself around her from behind to reach the falling crystal. Leaping down, her firm fingers were able to catch it.

“Got it!” she yelled triumphantly. Elsa gulped, as Maren was now looking up to her from the ground, holding onto the crystal.

“Um, yeah,” she said slowly lifting herself up with her legs now in front of Elsa, quite close. “What is this?” Maren whispered, the crystal now laced with ice in a diamond shape. “Is this- a crystal? What did you do to it?” 

“I have no idea,” Elsa said hurriedly. “Is my ice on it? I’m so sorry!”

Maren smirked. “Well it’s not mine to be sorry for, is it?” She placed it back in Elsa’s hand, palms briefly touching. Elsa inhaled a sharp breath, then suddenly prayed that it wasn’t noticeable. She felt the color in her cheeks warm, her palms begin to sweat, and worse, her fingers about to form ice again. She quickly took the crystal and cleared her throat.

“Whoa, that was so close!” exclaimed Daniel.

“Oh my goodness, Daniel!” Elsa said hurriedly, forgetting that the boy had witnessed the entire thing. “Yes, I guess that was. Here, this is far too valuable for me to hold on to. Do you want to keep it?

Daniel’s eyes lit up, but then hesitated. Considering the offer, he said, “Well I found it for you. But you almost dropped it.” Elsa sighed at the blatancy of this boy, but blushed as Honeymaren giggled. “But Maren picked it up. But you made it prettier. Sooo, maybe  _ you  _ can give it to  _ Maren _ !” Daniel happily said conclusively. 

“Um, alright. Maren- I-I mean Honeymaren - here is this beautiful crystal that Daniel found for me that he wants you to have,” she laughed. 

Giggling, Honeymaren happily accepted the gift. “Why thank you, Elsa! And thank you, Daniel,” she beamed onto the boy. 

Daniel sheepishly grinned right back, and hurried along to find his mother. 

“Well, now that Daniel has decided who is allowed to keep this, I have to ask, do you want it?” Honeymaren mumbled.

Elsa did not believe Honeymaren had the ability to mumble or be shy with anyone, and the grin spreading on her face surprised her. “What? Of course not. Consider it a gift, from me to you, not from Daniel to me to you,” she laughed.

“Cool! Well in that case I’m gonna make it a necklace with some thread that I recently got from going into a village I found near here. I had no idea there were civilizations around here other than Arendelle! God, I’m so happy I can just,  _ go  _ to the village now. If you told me a year ago, no, two months ago, that I would be able to walk freely.. I don’t know” she grinned. 

Elsa had no idea what to say to that, she had no idea how to react to Honeymaren telling her such a personal feeling. Well it wasn’t  _ personal.  _ Elsa was just overreacting. This was Honeymaren telling her something that she felt happy to do. That she  _ felt.  _ Honeymaren was talking about her  _ feelings  _ to her. “Yeah, I’m happy for you,” she murmured, right before clearing her throat.

“It’s thanks to you and your sister, you know,” Honeymaren continued.  _ Oh god, why did she have to continue? _ “I- look I don’t normally do this for other people, but like, we’re kind of all eternally grateful for you. I mean, I’m grateful that I-” she stuttered. “I’m just really happy that I’m able to go outside of this forest again. I love it here, but freedom just feels so  _ nice.  _ I don’t know if I’m making sense right now” she laughed unsurely. 

“No, you are,” Elsa whispered. “I understand the feeling completely.”

“These woods have set you free, haven’t they?” Honeymaren questioned. 

“They have,” Elsa smiled, “I feel like I can be my own person here. I feel like I can finally just  _ breathe  _ and not have to worry about leading a kingdom or suppressing my powers, or-” she stopped herself, realizing she might be going too far.

“Or what?” Honeymaren persisted.

“Or hiding other parts of myself,” Elsa uttered the last part quietly, more to herself than to Honeymaren. 

Honeymaren almost continued to ask Elsa what she meant by that, but stopped herself. That was Elsa’s personal life, not her own, and she needed to recognize and understand that. 

“Yeah, I totally get it. This forest really brings out parts of yourself that you never knew were there. I mean, I’ve  _ only _ been in here for my entire life, so what I’m saying is, it feels so freeing to finally explore. I can tell you every part of this ever-changing forest inside and out, but I’m ready to look beyond that. This forest will forever be my home, and I am committed to the magic it holds, but I want to see the world.”

“I’ll have to show you Arendelle sometime,” Elsa offered. 

“Wait, really?” Honeymaren’s eyes widened. 

“Of course! Yelana has already seen it, as well as some other elders, so why can’t you?”

Maren’s eyes suddenly darkened. “I doubt that Yelana would approve of me visiting the kingdom that was once ruled by people who wanted to murder us.” 

“I assure you, it’s not like that anymore. My sister Anna is committed to making sure that Arendelle will not partake in any murders, wars, or conquer any land. Also, we already have the advantage of being pretty much secluded, so hopefully nobody will see  _ us  _ as a threat,” Elsa chuckled.

Honeymaren knew Elsa was talking about the outside world and more powerful nations and kingdoms, but she couldn’t help but feel bad about what she said. Of course Arendelle was peaceful and dedicated to love, unlike how it was thirty years ago under Runeard’s rule. How could she still see Arendelle as a threat?

“I’m so sorry,” Honeymaren said. “I didn’t mean for it to sound like I thought of you as untrustworthy or not an ally. Of course Anna is an excellent queen, and I know she’ll do what’s right.”

“Don’t apologize! After thirty years of being trapped in here because of my grandfather I doubt you’re ready to have complete faith in Arendelle,” Elsa laughed. 

“No, I didn’t mean-”

“And that’s exactly why I left Anna in charge. She will make a better queen than I was because she knows Arendelle and its people much better than me. I trust Anna, and she trusts me. I hope that the Northuldra can trust us,” after saying that, Elsa realized that she might have sounded a bit too pushy. 

“Yeah, me too,” Honeymaren said softly. “Well, I’m glad we got to talking, but that wood isn’t gonna burn itself” she laughed.

“Oh, right, yeah,” Elsa said hurriedly, “I forgot.”

Honeymaren just laughed. “See you around,” she said, placing her hand on Elsa’s arm, temporarily freezing the goddess of ice. 

“See you around,” Elsa whispered, staring as the brunette walked playfully toward Ryder, ready to explore outside the forest. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit longer, and I wanted to introduce Honeymaren. Elsa is for some reason afraid of Honeymaren, but as she gets to know her better, that fear is replaced with.. well even she doesn't know. I hope you enjoyed my attempt at fluff and this terrible "flirting" ;)


	3. Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I've been kinda inactive! Just a warning, I will most likely not post as much this week because school stuff :/ I'll try to post as much as I can though!

Elsa liked to take walks through the forest. She got to learn the different twists and turns, she could admire its beauty, and she could be lost in her thoughts. Walks were perfect for her. However, sometimes Elsa did not like to think, she did not like to feel. While she got energy from being alone, Elsa did not like it when her feelings would get so intense that she could just sink into herself and never come out. However, after this morning’s events, thoughts that she normally wanted to avoid inevitably snuck up on her...

She knew that Honeymaren was a strong and prominent figure in the tribe, and would someday take over Yelana’s place as Chief. She also knew that Honeymaren loved reindeer, her people, the forest, and magic. She was courageous and passionate with a glimmer in her eyes, ready to take on anything. When Honeymaren and Elsa first met, she informed her that there was a fifth spirit, which Elsa soon figured out to be herself and Anna. Maren was the one that pointed her in that direction, she was just that smart. She was also really pretty; her long dark hair braided so neatly but at the same time so casually, her chocolate eyes that could stare her down, her soft brown skin that she wanted to.. kiss? No. Absolutely not. Elsa was _so_ not doing this again. Why would she want to kiss Honeymaren? Why were these thoughts so explicit, so personal, and also so very intrusive? This was _Honeymaren_ , she thought. _A girl that I interact with every single day._ A girl? Why was Elsa fantasizing about a girl? A girl that she knew? Or even just a _girl_? 

Elsa was always known to be the cold, aloof, and even detached ruler who, while always having her people’s best interests at heart, would do what was right in her distanced and unemotional way. She blatantly refused to be married after she was crowned queen, making it quite clear to the hundreds of princes and dukes waiting in line that they needed to wait somewhere else, and left all the romance to Anna. Of course, there were men like Hans who took advantage of her sister, and tried murdering both of them, but some she did feel genuinely sorry for. For example, after the Hans problem had settled down, a Prince Jack of Burgess clearly wanted her hand. He was the classic rebel-without-a-cause prince who made all the young ladies in the royalty world go mad, and Elsa thought that letting him pursue her would be okay because maybe she would feel _something_. But she never did, and when he tried to kiss her, she had to smoothly friendzone him, which of course did not come across as smooth. He was understandably upset with her for letting him on, and she never heard from him again. 

What was really so odd about the situation was her sister; Anna had always been the head of hopeless romance, yet when she confided in her about Jack, her sister seemed so confused. Elsa was annoyed with her because Anna was happily living a perfect life with Kristoff, yet when there was a male in _her_ life, she was not her usual squealy self. As she continued to trick Jack into thinking she wanted to pursue romance, Anna constantly told her that she should do what her _heart_ was feeling, not society. When Jack did try to advance their relationship, Elsa of course freaked out and shut him down. 

She had interacted with few people up until her coronation three years ago, so of course she was feeling physical feelings about Honeymaren. She was just lonely, and these feelings didn’t mean anything. Elsa wanted to be Maren’s friend, like _really_ badly, and that was completely normal, she reassured herself. Elsa could use a friend whom she wasn’t related to or whom she didn’t consider family. Anna and Kristoff were her closest friends, but that was because Anna was her sister and Kristoff was Anna’s fiancé. They were her _family_ , and were obviously in Arendelle, so why shouldn’t Elsa have a friend here in the forest like Honeymaren? 

_Besides_ , she told herself. _It’s wrong and unnatural to feel this way about another woman. This is your fault for disconnecting yourself from the rest of the world for so long. You feel this way because you have only interacted with Anna, Kristoff, Olaf, and Sven all of your life._

As she rounded a corner, she found Honeymaren and Ryder saddling up reindeer to go for a ride outside of the forest, towards the mountains. They waved hello to her, and she managed a small smile and waved back. She continued to watch Honeymaren brush her reindeer and jump onto the saddle. Maren had caught Elsa staring, but instead of having a judgy or even confused look on her face, she just _smiled_ . A simple warm smile. Elsa found herself beaming, then realized she looked like an idiot. As Maren and Ryder rode off into the distance, Elsa realized that maybe she wanted to be Maren’s _best_ friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Elsa, you are so clearly head over heels for this girl!! A couple points:  
> \- Elsa was raised in royalty, something that most likely demanded a traditional role from her, no matter how open-minded Anna or anyone else in the castle was. I think part of the reason Elsa moved out to the forest and away from Arendelle/life as a royal was because traditional roles, however much she could handle them, were not for her. (clearly haha) However, she was raised in a world where it was taught that she should have a King as a spouse, not a fellow queen. You didn't just decide not to get married as a royal, so Elsa's rare case in F1 really opened up my eyes to the possibility that she was gay.  
> \- Sorry to all you Elsafrost fans out there- I had to poke my fun into that ship! I hope you can forgive me!!


	4. Ahtohallen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the brief hiatus! I needed to put this fic in the right direction- hopefully you guys like it!

That night the people gathered around the campfire for supper. It was getting closer and closer to the Winter Solstice every day, and preparations were being made. More food had to be prepared, and decorations had to be crafted. Elsa had never celebrated a Solstice before, and she was excited to. She knew everyone was supposed to make their own lantern that day and they would lift it into the air when the sun went down. It was to symbolize how even though it was the shortest day of sunlight that year, there was still a light within the people. After they would release the lanterns, a festival would begin, with spiritual music, food, etc. 

This Solstice was supposed to be really significant because it was the first time in thirty-four years that lanterns could be lifted. Yelana had explained to her that for years they had tried, but the mist would simply block it, and the lanterns would shoot back down. Spirits would be rather low after that, and the festival was never the same. In fact, Yelana revealed that for the past ten years the Winter Solstice would be discarded, and the people acted as if it were just another day in the forest that they were trapped in. This made Elsa sad, and just added onto her guilt of not knowing who the Northuldra were for most of her life, or at least not becoming concerned with the Enchanted Forest sooner. 

Anna was demanding her home for the holidays, but Elsa was eager to celebrate the Solstice in the forest. She knew that her powers were growing stronger and stronger each day specifically for this event, and because the forest was the birthplace of why she had these powers, she felt she ought to stay. Anna understood, but made sure she would at least be in Arendelle for Christmas Eve up until the New Year. 

After each supper, when the fire began to die down, Elsa always felt reminded of when she had her first real conversation with Honeymaren. She was so drawn to her, and it felt like home. The children playing, soon being told by their parents to get to bed, the drowsy reindeer, the people getting ready for the next day, the delightful sound of the last cracklings of the fire. It all felt so right to Elsa, like she was made to be here. Which of course she was, and she had no regrets of leaving Arendelle in the hands of her sister. 

Sometimes, children liked to gather around Elsa and ask her questions; why did she have her powers, why didn’t  _ they _ have powers, could she make them something out of ice please. Elsa delighted in this, as it reminded her of the children of Arendelle who would ask the same things. Tonight, the young Northuldra demanded a story, and it had to be  _ real _ , but also exciting. As she started going on about how her sister had almost died of a frozen heart, Daniel cried out. 

“ _ Boring _ ! We’ve heard this one a thousand times! Tell us about how you became the Fifth Spirit!”

The children around him eagerly murmured and pleaded to hear about Elsa visiting Ahtohallen. Had she really talked about Anna that much? Maybe she was too stuck up on her life in Arendelle still. 

“Um, okay,” Elsa began. “Well, it happened just a few months ago, but get ready. I had heard a call for a while, but I had no idea what it was. I thought I was hearing voices-”

* * *

  
  


When she finally finished, most of the children were wide-eyed and eager for more. 

“That’s it?” cried Daniel.

“I’m afraid that’s it,” Elsa laughed, “for now..”

“That was the best story ever!” another child cried out, jumping all around.

“Wait hold on. So where  _ is  _ Ahtohallen? And how did you get there? And could you take  _ me  _ there??” a girl Daniel’s age asked hurriedly.

“Um, I don’t really know how safe it is.” That was not the reply the children wanted, she suddenly realized. Now they were all claiming to be old enough, to be tough enough, that they wanted to go  _ so  _ badly and they didn’t care how safe it was or not. Worse, she had encouraged them so they all knew that Ahtohallen was accessible to her, and was probably not too far. 

“Alright,” called a voice entering the circle the children had made, “time for bed you lot.” Honeymaren had shooed them off, picking up one child and throwing him over her shoulder like a sack, which made him reply in a squeal of delight and giggling. 

“Maren!” they cried. “Maren, have you been to Ahtohallen? Because I wanna go so  _ so  _ badly, but Elsa won’t let me!”

“Younglings,” she replied, “I am only human, just as you, and have never been to Ahtohallen. Of course, it’s probably beautiful, but it’s beyond our reach.” She sighed. “Now off to bed, all of you!” she pretended to chase them away, with them giggling and running back to their tents. 

She turned to Elsa, who was red in the face, but enjoyed watching Maren banter with the children. 

“Sooo,” Maren began, making her way over to sit next to Elsa, “I don’t want to sound like the children, but I meant to ask this earlier. How is Ahtohallen? What’s it like? I know it’s silly, but I’ve always imagined it to be this beautiful land that looked down on the entire Earth, kind of up in the clouds. I know that sounds so stupid-”

“No that doesn’t sound stupid at all!” Elsa replied hurriedly. “It’s actually a glacier. That might sound boring but it’s beautiful and has taught me so much and-”

“Glaciers are rivers of ice,” Honeymaren finished. “Of course! And you’re the ice goddess, that makes so much more sense!”

They sat in silence, watching the fire crackle away, hearing animals off in the distance. 

“Honeymaren?” Elsa asked, gulping. “You know how you said you wanted to explore more outside of the forest?”

“Yeah..” Honeymaren started.

“Well,” -she couldn’t believe she was about to do this- “how would you like to visit Ahtohallen with me? I feel like you’re, I don’t know, entitled to in some way. You were the one who pointed me in the direction of it, and you’ve been studying it and believing in it and dreaming about it your whole life. You, erm, were a part of this journey, and it would just be wrong to not show you the place where I discovered all of” -she gestured to herself- “this.” She could not  _ believe  _ she was being that vulnerable with her.

“Elsa, I- I would love to. You have no idea,” Honeymaren’s eyes became wide and Elsa could’ve sworn she saw a glimmer in them. “But can a human survive the trek? I know it’s somewhere north of the North Sea, but-” she paused. “The North Sea gets dangerous. Like too dangerous even for  _ me _ . I assume you only survived because of your powers, but I don’t want to hold you down. Because if I do, I wouldn’t just be risking my own life, I’d be risking yours.”

“Maren, I know it’s incredibly dangerous. I almost died trying to get there, but I survived. You wanna know why?”

“Good morale?” Maren guessed.

“That,” Elsa laughed, “and the Nokk. As you know, I somehow tamed it, so I  _ know _ it will protect me. Because it protects me, it has to protect you. Don’t you see?”

“It’s still a pretty risky game. But Elsa, training the Nokk was not an easy thing to do, trust me, I know people who have tried and have almost been killed. I don’t want to scare it, but if you have control over it, I trust you.” Honeymaren looked Elsa in the eyes. “I trust you completely.”

The two were staring into each other's eyes. Elsa couldn’t help but notice the perfect brown, like chocolate, that made her feel warm inside until she forgot to breathe. They were  _ so close _ , just inches away. 

_ Whoa, _ Elsa thought,  _ just friends.  _

Hastily breaking eye contact, she cleared her throat. “So, it’s settled then,” she said promptly. “When should we go?” 

“How about now?” Honeymaren replied.

“Now? Like  _ now _ , now?” 

“Yeah,” she said, giggling. “ _ Now _ , now. Come on!” taking her hand, Maren lifted her up. 

“Alright,” Elsa said, short of breath. “Let’s go!”

Giggling, the two ran hand-in-hand towards the North Sea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 5 coming asap!


	5. Ahtohallen Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the comedic comments in the last chapter!! They were much appreciated and made my day :))

The pair arrived at the shore, wind throwing their hair back and cold water spraying lightly on their faces. The cold air made Maren’s skin perk up, already turning her ears and cheeks a flushed red and forming goosebumps all over her body. She had on her fur overcoat, so hopefully she would be warm enough. Besides, Maren was tough and handled more dangerous and colder tasks than this before. She took a deep breath, and determined that this was worth it.

“Damn,” said Elsa as a wave the size of a half-grown tree crashed down, “it’s a lot more rough than I thought. Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Positive,” Maren replied, taking more of a risk by squeezing Elsa’s hand. Elsa didn’t seem to mind, but Maren did notice how her skin became more flushed. She blamed that on the cold, even though Elsa once revealed to her that she never got cold. 

“Okay,” said Elsa breathlessly. “Let’s do this.”

With that, something formed from out of the water, barreling towards the shore. It was the water spirit, the Nokk, and it headed straight for Elsa. 

“Hey there, you,” she cooed. The water horse merely grunted. It was pretty grouchy most of the time and had only ever cared for Elsa. Maren let out a small giggle when it seemed the horse was being sassy. 

Upon noticing her, the Nokk let out a strangled neigh and hoofed the ground nervously, starting towards Maren threateningly.

“It’s all right,” Elsa quickly said, trying to calm the animal, “she’s with me, I promise.”

The Nokk didn’t seem convinced and stepped back, almost afraid of Maren. Elsa put her arm around Maren’s back to show the spirit that she meant no harm, and Maren felt the lump in her throat grow. 

Thankfully, it realized that Maren wasn’t a threat, and slowly strutted towards her to see how friendly she was. 

“Lift out your arm to show him you’re peaceful,” Elsa told her. “No, not overhand, like- like this-”

She raised her arm underhandedly so that she could touch its mane. She slowly pet it, and it allowed her to move closer. 

“Oh, okay. Like.. this?” Maren slowly moved her arm up and let her shaking hand hover over its mane. The Nokk looked unsure, and tilted its head, slowly allowing Maren to pet it.

Grinning, she turned to Elsa. “I’m doing it!”

Elsa beamed back at her, proud of both Maren and the Nokk. “Okay,” she said, “now that he’ll let you pet him, let’s see how he’ll react to you riding.” With that, Elsa jumped up on its back, forming ice reins with her fingers. Gulping, Honeymaren put her hand on the side of the Nokk and pushed up. She managed to get her leg around the horse’s back and sit comfortably without worrying too much. 

“Just don’t squeeze your foot on its side,” Elsa explained, sitting in front of her. “It’ll take that as an indication to go fast.”

“Isn’t that what we want?” joked Maren.

“Yes, but it’s better if I’m the one doing it- I mean, it’s better if there’s only one person commanding it. I’m surprised it’s let you go this far, and I’d hate to compromise that.” Pausing, Elsa realized that she must have sounded quite controlling. “I mean, I-”

“Elsa,” Maren murmured behind her, “I understand.”

Taking a deep breath, Elsa looked forward towards the waves. “Okay,” she said, “let’s pray this works.”

She commanded the Nokk to barrel forward. It was difficult with the waves crashing down on them, but ice would form as it galloped, creating a semi-safe grounding. Elsa tried to direct it away from the waves by riding parallel to where they formed, but she soon realized that that did no good, in fact, it only did worse for all of them.

“Look out!” Maren cried as a wave three times the size of them formed right beside them. 

“Shit!” Elsa exclaimed, forcing the Nokk to abruptly turn into the wave, attempting to get them back on track again. Going into the wave went about as badly as expected, and they plunged underwater, losing grip of the horse. 

As they were falling, Maren grabbed on tightly to Elsa’s waist, squeezing her as Elsa tried to regain control of the Nokk by making her slipping legs attach to it and pulling tightly around its reins. 

Unfortunately, the force of the waves and the violence of the current resulted in Elsa and the Nokk being separated, losing the ice reins and slipping into the sea. All the while, Maren held tightly onto her, at this point realizing how unlikely it was for her to reach Ahtohallen. Elsa turned to her, checking to see if she was okay. Their faces were next to each other, not two inches apart, and they were holding onto each other for dear life.

“I’m so sorry,” Maren choked out into the water.

“What?!” Elsa exclaimed. She started talking, but Maren couldn’t tell what she was saying. 

“Elsa! I can’t hear you!” she made out, making sure her mouth moved with every syllable. At this point, water was entering her lungs, and she started choking. Elsa recognized this and swam her up to the surface. Both gasped for air as they treaded water and got thrown around by the storm. 

“Elsa, I-” Maren started through shortened breaths, 

“Honeymaren, save your energy!” Elsa looked around, finding the shore and starting to swim towards it with Maren in her arms. It was far away, just barely in sight. Honeymaren pulled her back.

“It’s too far. Maybe just- float on our backs.”

Looking towards the shore, maybe about three hundred meters away, and Honeymaren, just barely holding on, Elsa gave in. They got pushed around by the current and attempted to wait for the storm to subside. Each tried taking deep breaths, but it was difficult because they were using energy by trying to not sink, and water was still splashing over them. Eventually, Elsa let the water take her, not knowing what else to do and becoming too tired to try. 

_________

When she woke up, her arms had been tightly harnessed on Honeymaren’s waist, and she was.. riding the Nokk? Confused, she realized she woke up because she heard the beautiful singing that came from the glacier of Ahtohallen. 

“Maren?” she murmured both groggily and in awe into the ear of the girl now commanding the water spirit. 

Moving her head back, she grinned towards Elsa, whispering. “It’s so much more beautiful than I thought it would be.”

Elsa now sat higher up, forcing her head to leave Maren’s shoulder, but continuing to place her hands on her waist. “How did you make this happen?” she wondered aloud.

“The Nokk for some reason knew I was trustworthy, I guess,” she replied.

Upon arriving, Maren slid off of the horse first. Offering Elsa her hand, she asked shyly, “Would you please show me everything?”

Looking into her eyes, Elsa gave Maren her hand and jumped off the Nokk.

“I’m still so confused,” she giggled.

“Thank you,” Maren said to the spirit. Grunting, it galloped off into the distance. Watching the blue light shimmer farther and farther into the horizon, Elsa faced Maren, raising her eyebrows questioningly.

Laughing, Maren started to explain. “We fell off the Nokk, and managed to swim back up to the surface. I said to lie on our backs-”

“I know all this,” Elsa interrupted.

“Right, well, as I was processing what was going on, you must’ve sunk into the water. I couldn’t find you, and I was terrified that you had drowned. It was dark but I swam down, attempting to look for you, and that’s when I noticed a blue light. For some reason, I thought it was you, I don’t know why, but it was the Nokk, with, and you’re not gonna believe this, you  _ unconscious _ on its back! It allowed me to get on it, and I made sure you were holding on to me at all times. I had to ride bareback because I couldn’t form any reins or saddle, and we went pretty slow at first. I had no idea where we were going, but the Nokk seemed to know exactly, and it eagerly moved faster and faster until I heard this singing. It was so beautiful, and I saw a glacier coming into view, so I knew we were here. And that’s when you woke up.”

Elsa just stared with her mouth gaping, in complete shock and awe of Maren. 

“So what I’m hearing is that you saved my life? I almost drowned, yet you somehow found me  _ and _ the Nokk, started riding it  _ bareback  _ all while I was unconscious and drooling over your shoulder?”

“You never drooled!” exclaimed Maren. “Well only a little..”

“Oh my god, I was being dramatic!” Elsa exasperatedly threw her arms up in the air. 

“It was cute! Don’t worry, it wasn’t that much!” laughed Maren, enjoying that Elsa started to turn furiously red with embarrassment. “And besides, it wasn’t me who found you, it was the Nokk! We really owe it all to that creature. Also, remember, I made the completely idiotic call by  _ laying on our backs _ .” __

“Still, how you managed to do all this with no help-” Elsa started, shaking her head. “I have no idea what to say to that.”

“How bout thanks?” smirked Maren.

“I already- ergh!” 

“You did not!” she playfully shoved Elsa.

“Hey! I-  _ thank you Maren _ ,” Elsa growled through gritted teeth.

“That doesn’t sound sincere.”

“You are impossible!”

Maren just laughed, turning to take Ahtohallen in up close for the first time. She swore she had never seen anything this tall before, not even the mountains she had recently visited, but maybe that was because she was standing next to a literal cliff of ice. She saw four symbols out of the five spirits, Earth, Fire, Wind, and Water. Suddenly, she remembered the real reason why she was here.

“Look, jokes aside, you know I’ve been studying these spirits all of my life, right? I gave everything into believing that,  _ somehow _ , there was meaning to all of this, and that there would be a light at the end of the tunnel for my people.

“It was only a few years ago I realized there was a fifth spirit, and when I did, I went ecstatic. I tried telling anyone who would listen, but at that point no one was prioritizing the spirits or.. any of it. Yelana believed me, of course, as well as my dopey brother, but at the time, our only goal was to survive. With our resources slowly running out, hope was sort of lost. And then you and Anna showed up, and I knew there was something special about you, besides the whole ice queen thing,” she laughed. 

“That you did, and thanks to that, I managed to figure out who I truly am,” Elsa replied, looking up at the magnificent glaciers and starting towards it. She waited for Maren, who hesitated. What if this wasn’t all she hoped it would be? 

“It’s okay,” Elsa sensed her caution and extended her hand. Her wide blue eyes softening when she saw Maren standing like a small animal was enough to make her want to find out the answers to the questions she had been asking for so long.

She ran up and entangled her fingers with Elsa’s, still cautious, but now because she did not know how Elsa was feeling. Silently, the two walked hand-in-hand, taking in the gorgeous scene around them. 

It was after a few minutes that Elsa broke the silence. “I’m noticing so much more than I did the last time I was here. Then again, I was exploring eagerly, trying to chase down the voice that was calling me.”

“I’m just- still in complete shock. I can feel the power it holds, and with you here, I’m sure the powers are amplifying. It all seems so connected; like it was made for you.”

Elsa had never thought about this before. She knew that the sole reason for her and Anna’s existence, as well as her powers, were because of Ahtohallen and the bridge needed between the Enchanted Forest and Arendelle. But when had Ahtohallen been created? How long had a fifth spirit existed for? And how had Ahtohallen known this needed to happen?

They walked in silence until they reached the main room, the place where Ahtohallen show her her mother and explain to her everything that she needed to know. Upon recognizing Elsa’s arrival, a blue light expanded throughout the floor to form a snowflake. The singing had only grown louder, and a gust of wind pushed Elsa’s hair back and formed ice patterns on her gown. 

Maren could only just stare as Elsa became more and more beautiful and magnificent. The power that was growing was immense, but then something happened. 

She had been keeping the ice-diamond that Elsa had given her as a necklace, tucked underneath her fur tunic. She felt the magic pull it from where it was touching her skin to over her coat, and saw that diamond patterns had begun to form on the hems of her shirt. 

Maren felt the ground begin to shake and was pushed forward to the center of the flake, where she could see the surrounding walls that reflected.. her? She saw multiple images of herself with Elsa, her and Elsa sitting by the fire the night they first met, when she convinced Elsa to stay in the forest, when she and Elsa went walking, her holding on tightly to Elsa in the sea. She also noticed herself alone. She saw herself as a child, staring out into the mist, longing to go beyond it. She saw herself with her father, whom she missed so much more with every passing day, and.. oh no. She saw herself as a sixteen-year-old with  _ her _ . Maren hadn’t thought about her in over five years, at least. She started to panic, because the images showed her holding her hand, laughing. She looked over at Elsa, whose face she could not read. She was feeling something; was it jealousy, was it relief? Or was it both?

Thankfully, the singing started to subside, and the images disappeared. Leaves flew in from behind, encircling them. As they started to settle down, the leaves grew a frost, which Maren thought odd. She walked over to examine them, but the frost had grown to form a flurry of snow, pushing Maren back into the center, and causing her to fall on her backside. When she stayed down, it seemed satisfied, and returned to its state of frost.

“Whoa, this is so..” she started.

“I know,” replied Elsa, sitting down in front of her. “It’s different from when I was here before. Last time, statues formed from snow that revealed all I needed to know. Now that I know that I am the Fifth Spirit, I’m trying to figure out what Ahtohallen has to say now.”

Maren blushed, because the images that were revealed by Ahtohallen were about her. Was it trying to tell Maren something about herself? Or was it trying to tell Elsa something about Maren?

“Well it’s not gonna let us out of this circle until we figure it out, apparently,” laughed Maren.

“No,” Elsa agreed. “So what does it want us to know?”

“Why are there leaves? Aren’t you the ice goddess? And why did a frost grow on them?”

“I’m thinking that this mystery isn’t so much about me, but about you,” Elsa murmured.

“Oh. Well what is there to figure out?”

“I don’t know. But it might have something to do with me because, well, I’m pretty sure Ahtohallen doesn’t let just anyone in. And even though there are leaves, there is a frost on them,” Elsa hesitated. “I don’t want to sound too narcissistic-”

“No, that makes perfect sense,” Maren replied. “Wait! These leaves are from the forest!”

“Are you sure?”

“Well, there might be other trees like it, and even though it won’t let me get too close, I can tell because each line is directly diagonal, and there are three lines on each side, exactly symmetrical. Also, where else could these leaves have blown from?” 

“Okay, perfect!” Elsa smiled, enjoying to learn that Maren was quite a bit of a nerd. “The leaves must represent you, and I suppose the frost represents me, so- something about the two of us?” For some reason, Elsa started blushing furiously. Honeymaren had broken eye contact, and the two remained in silence.

“Elsa, could- could I ask you something?” Maren cleared her throat.

“Of course,” she replied, looking into her eyes.

“Why don’t you just live here? It’s so much more beautiful than the forest, and this  _ is _ both the birthplace and the core of your powers. Why live with us?”

Elsa seemed a little taken aback, and darted her eyes around, fidgeting. “Well, I felt that the forest was beautiful as well, and I didn’t want to leave you guys behind. I know you are of course capable on your own, but I wanted to make sure you had someone in your corner, someone from the outside.”

“Oh, okay,” replied Maren, not quite sure Elsa was telling the full truth.

“Also- never mind,” Elsa started.

“What?” she pressed on.

“You asked. And even though I didn’t know you too well, I didn’t want to leave you. There was something about you- I don’t know. I felt-” she stopped, staring into Maren’s eyes. They were those damn chocolate eyes, looking soft as ever, refusing to break contact.

“What did you feel?” she whispered.

“So attracted. You were so interesting, and I wanted to get to know you. I was confused about my feelings, but now I know, I don’t need to be. Whenever we’re together, I feel steadiness, like everything is exactly as it should be. Like I can focus, drown out all the noise,” she was whispering so softly that Maren needed to move closer to hear.

Maren was not expecting this much candor, and she momentarily forgot how to breathe. Staring into her icy eyes, Maren dared to crane her neck forward. Their noses touched, and she laid her forehead against Elsa’s. 

“We shouldn’t do this,” murmured Elsa, yet she did not break the physical contact. 

“What if we should?”

When Elsa didn’t object, Maren softly touched her lips to hers. They remained locked until Elsa pressed deeper, arching her back for more. She wrapped her arms around Maren’s neck so that her hands were feeling through her beautiful hair, and Maren was now kissing her so softly, yet so intently, that she didn’t think she could go any deeper. She moved her hands that were cupping Elsa’s face to her back, so that Maren’s arms wrapped underneath Elsa’s, almost on her waist, but not quite. She held on tightly, and was soon gasping for air.

Maren dared open her eyes, and found Elsa staring right back at her. The two breathed heavily in sync, grins forming on their faces.

“We definitely should,” smiled Elsa. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed a bit of a longer chapter from Maren's POV! Cheers!


	6. The Interest of the Spirits

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh wow, it's been so long! Seriously, I am so sorry I was absent for over a MONTH. There is really no excuse but I did need to sort of "check myself". I really hope I successfully hold myself to some standards, and I really hope I can finish this fic up (I'm undecided on how many more chapters but I'm planning for at least 4-5). Thanks for sticking with me for this!

Elsa found herself enjoying the kiss. She did not expect to, just like how when she opened her eyes, taking in Honeymaren’s alluring lips and soft skin, she did not expect to want more, like kissing Honeymaren was the only thing that mattered, that running her hands through her beautiful hair and pulling the back of her neck so that she would press deeper was the only thing of value to Elsa. 

Maren felt Elsa pull away and opened her eyes to see if everything was okay. She found Elsa smiling and cupping Maren’s cheeks, icy blue eyes swimming with emotion. 

“We definitely should.”

Elsa felt so happy, and even though she knew this was not right, it was still so _right_. She could not believe this young woman was making her feel things that she never thought herself to have the emotional capacity of. 

The icy leaves were starting to rise and form around the two, until they were spinning so eminently that both took notice.

“I think they’re happy about what they see,” laughed Maren.

“Yeah, I guess so,” Elsa closed her eyes and brushed her nose to Maren’s, cupping her face to not forget this moment. Maren whimpered in response, which surprised even her, and tried to hide her quick blush.

“You’re amazing,” Elsa whispered. How was she being this _forward_? Maren chuckled in response.

“How is the Fifth Spirit having this much of an effect on me?”

At that moment, Gale flew through, causing Elsa and Honeymaren to rise, and for the leaves to fly forward, out from the glacier. 

“Whoa,” stumbled Maren as Gale burst so the two could leave and return to the forest. They laughed exuberantly on the ride home because they were flying, or really just spinning extensively on a path back to the shores of the forest. When they arrived, they thanked the spirit and held hands until they reached the camp.

“Well,” said Elsa, looking at her feet and blushing.

“See you tomorrow,” Honeymaren nervously laughed. She paused, not before placing a kiss on Elsa’s cheek and prancing off to her tent. Elsa watched her go, dumbfounded, and smiled and waved goodbye as Maren entered her quarters. 

As she walked the path back to her cabin, far off so she was secluded, just as she liked it, she began to grin widely, so widely that she was beaming, something she never did. Her heart was beating so fast she thought she would forget how to breathe, and a giddy feeling began to form in her stomach. Elsa started jumping until she was laughing so hard it began to hurt, and shimmery outlines of icy shapes and patterns began to burst from her fingertips. 

* * *

As Elsa lay down, intrusive thoughts entered her mind, and not the dirty kind she had earlier on. 

Of course the Northuldra were more open-minded than most, of course Anna would be more than happy for her. But why did she feel like this was supposed to be wrong? Perhaps because it was wrong. 

Elsa had for all of her life put herself and _her_ feelings aside for everyone else, so why shouldn’t she explore what, or who, would make her happy?

_No_ , she firmly told herself. The earlier butterflies were steadily turning into actual nerves, making her lose her breath for real this time, making her feel trapped, like her cabin was about to cave in on her. A violent flurry began to form over her bed, and she sat up, panicking. How could she dare think of a future when these feelings were beating down on her? 

_Those feelings._ Those feelings had caused her pain for so long. Because feelings will _hurt_. She let the storm fall over her, trying to turn numb. Elsa turned over to sleep, shivering, but not from the cold. 

* * *

She felt the rumbling before it started, she felt the movement of Ahtohallen, she saw it before it began. Though the leaves had been blown away, one seemed to have been left behind, and was falling slowly yet enchantingly towards the center of the outlined snowflake, where Honeymaren and Elsa had shared their kiss just hours before.

When it reached the center, a blue light spread to each of the four corners of the flake. When the lines came to an end, each revealed the sign of one of four spirits; air, wind, fire, and earth. Gale came rushing forward, followed by the Nokk, as well as Bruni. The Earth Giants were a bit more of a challenge. 

They were one collective group, but had a leader, the biggest of them all. It, like its many fellow giants, were awake at night, so when it noticed a bright blue light and a caller in the distance, it abruptly left, shaking the forest with it. Anna gave it the name “Jord”, and he moved surprisingly fast. When he finally arrived, all four noticed the leaf. 

What happened next was strange; Gale, Nokk, Bruni, and Jord saw the leaf and immediately made their way to it by tackling, sneaking, and crushing each other. Jord had toppled over the Nokk, who was pawing at Bruni, who managed to escape. However, Bruni became entangled with Gale, and Gale blew the leaf across to the other side of the chamber. 

The spirits came to their senses, hastily rising and disentangling. They realized the damage they had done from shaking the glacier to the core, which was most likely having devastating effects on the Enchanted Forest. However, unbeknownst to them, stirring the leaf was the most damaging. 

Elsa woke up in a cold sweat, taking a minute to realize she had been crying in her sleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cheers, 
> 
> Multimarvel


End file.
